ABSTRACT
In their discussions of the evolution of U.S. emergency management over the past century, the preceding authors addressed three critical areas: (1) the his-torical legacy that frames many current views of emergency management and particularly the role of the federal government; (2) the underlying processes affecting these views and the increasing expectations of government’s responsibilities; and (3) the heightened and intensified debate that took place at all levels of government in the aftermath of the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma in 2005 and the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in 2010. The authors sought to answer a critical, overriding question: What should be the role and functions of the federal government for major and catastrophic disasters in the United States?
